Luther Greene Is Dead; Landscaper, Producer

Published: June 4, 1987

Luther Greene, a landscape designer and former theatrical producer, died Sunday at his apartment in Manhattan. He was 78 years old. He essentially had two careers -producing Broadway plays, starting in 1935, and designing country and rooftop gardens, starting in the mid-1950's.

He ran his landscaping business from his unusual basement apartment, on East 58th Street near Sutton Place, with a private sidewalk greenhouse entrance and, inside, a grotto of seashells. The grotto, the work of many artists and craftsmen, took 20 years to create. The apartment was included in several walking tours.

Mr. Greene, who was born in Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia. The play that started his careeer as a producer was a New York revival of Ibsen's ''Ghosts,'' starring the Russian actress Alla Nazimova, at the Empire Theater.

He was married twice, the second time to Judith Anderson, the actress. Both marriages ended in divorce. As for gardens, he once told an interviewer: ''I do just what I used to do in the theater. I get the most talented people I can find, get them to work together and hope to end up with a hit.'' He wrote about gardening and produced films on landscaping.

He is survived by a son, Luther Greene of San Francisco; a daughter, Lenka Myers of Alamo, Calif.; a brother, Wesley, of Chicago, and four grandchildren.